Criscell and Spencer

December 2011

2012-01-06T10:27:00.017-07:00

As most know if you read my blog, I have the most recent pictures first. So really my blogs are backwards in reading. So We have the end of December first. I will have to start doing this the right way.

After opening gifts at home(or Spencer's parents), we go to my parent's and have a Christmas gift and exchange there. We usually spend most of the day there. My brother and sister in-law were here from Washington and so we had fun with them.

Alex didn't care so much about playing with his gifts as he did helping everyone open theirs. My younger brother had him help him open gifts. He adorned himself with each gift as he opened it. By the time he was done opening his Christmas gifts he looked like the unabomber(SP?).

We woke up and opened our Christmas gifts at Spencer's parents Christmas morning.

Spencer and his Gigantic Reeses's.

We like to play games and Spencer thinks I needed this one. Is he trying to tell me something.

Paper cut?

Christmas morning has Alex all tuckered out. He looks like dad all sprawled out with his belly poking out.

Waiting for Santa to come.

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit us at our family party.

It's always fun to stuff a little two year old in a giant stocking.

Alex is a curious little boy. He wanted to see what would happen if he threw an egg on the floor. You would have thought he had learned what they did when he threw the 18 pack on the floor earlier in the morning. Apparently the one surviving egg had to meet its demise.

Santa Claus at the mall

The long story of December 1st 2011.

It was a day that we did not really look forward to, but one that we had to meet eventually. Alex was scheduled to have his adenoids removed, tubes put in his ears and I deviated septum/sinus surgery. We were to be in the outpatient surgery clinic at 7 in the morning. I was nervous so I had no sleep the night prior. I was abruptly awoken in the morning by a panicked Spencer. He was throwing clothes on and tossing things around the room ranting and raving. "We got to go, the wind has been blowing semi's over on the freeway and it might take us a while to get where we are going". So I jumped out of bed threw my stuff together, my stomach growling more than ever. It's like it was enticing me to eat knowing that it would probably not see food all day and could not eat before the surgery either. The temptation is always worse when you know you can't have it. As we were about to walk out the door of Spencer's parents home, the power went out. knowing that the hospitals had generators and from experience of the power not being out for long, we forged on. Walking out the door alone was a trial in itself. The wind was blowing so hard I thought I might blow away. And I am not thin by all means.

As we drove down the road we really started to notice our surroundings. Trees were down everywhere debris flying through the air. These were not just little branches. These were 60 year old plus gigantic pine trees lying in the middle of the road. Some blocking all of traffic. Trees were lying on top of homes, cars, and even other trees.

We finally reached our destination and they checked us in. The power finally came back on and they had us back in the room gowns on and ready to go. Just as they to put my IV in the power went out again. Now it was a waiting game. Yes they had generators but they would not start a surgery on generated power. So now it was the waiting game. Knowing that we had driven three long hours to Utah for surgery they canceled everyone else and kept us in hopes the power would be restored. Around 10:30 and the news that the power would not come on until probably the next day they sent us home and rescheduled us the next day.

Of course my first thought was get me something to eat. We had to drive to Salt lake before we found eateries that had power. All of Davis County was out of commission. After eating we drove back to my parent's home. The hurricane force winds had devastated the town. As we drove down the street we saw what most would describe as a disaster, but what I would call small blessings and miracles. Trees were down, some on cars, but no one hurt. One home saved by a tree right next to their home stopping a 50 foot pine on a path into their home. You saw the path that the trees had fallen, just missing homes and vehicles. I think the damage could have been far worse. I am not downplaying peoples tragedies. Some homes had roofs literally ripped off their home. I just think in the big picture of it all the blessings are far greater. No one was killed is one of those greater blessings.

Back to our surgery. With the power back on at the Hospital, we were off. Davis county looking like a war zone we drove through with awe. The National Guard had been called in and that didn't help down play the war zone ambiance. We checked in got our IV's and our surgery was done. Alex was a little unhappy, but who wouldn't be after having their adenoids taken out. I on the other hand have never handled anesthesia very well. They said I could go home when my oxygen level was up. Through much cheering from my mother and Spencer I tried and tried and could not prevail. They wanted to go home and so did I. Finally I did it. No more beeping of the machine when my oxygen dropped. Home we went. I think I was out for the next week. Alex on the other hand was bouncing off the walls the same day. Unfortunately Spencer had to go back home and had to leave me and Alex with my Mom. :( Not that my mom is bad, I just love Spencer and would not see him for two weeks. Let me tell you that sinus surgery is probably one of the worst things ever. I don't think I am still fully recovered. The great thing is, that I can breathe and Alex can hear.

My friend Stacey came to visit us at my mom's with her son and twin girls. Alex and the kids had a blast jumping on the bed and making a ton of noise.

My brother and sister in-law sent me some beautiful flowers.

The surgery didn't take Alex down a peg. He was getting into things left and right, literally.

Mommy had to sleep in a recliner for a week. Couldn't do much of anything.

Don't I look so sexy. This is me after surgery. Don't ask me what they were thinking.

Alex after surgery. He was upset right after, but then just sat there and slept.

Before Surgery. Hanging out with mom in her bed.

Alex the morning of our Surgery the first day. The power is still off.

October, November 2011

2011-12-17T12:43:00.019-07:00

Alex's first fake tattoo... Seriously who puts tattoo's in a kids meal. Well anyways, we put it on him because he thought it was a sticker and was having a tantrum and wanted the sticker. It was so funny. He did not know what to think about it. He wanted to take the sticker off, but it was not coming off. It eventually came off. I do have to say that this was one of the best fake tattoo's I have ever seen. It did not come off for days.

"Santa Baby hurry down the chimney tonight"

I couldn't go without taking a picture of Alex in these awesome diapers. They are so cute and funny.

Thanksgiving tradition... Football!!!!

Everyone play from age two on up.

Alex was a little distracted by the little hill he could roll down. Much more fun than playing flag football.

Mommy and Alex

The green monster story.

So we put Alex to bed. Two hours later he comes knocking at the door to the room. "Mommy, mommy, mommy". Spencer and I converse on how we thought he was asleep, but he probably just woke up and was looking for us.

I go to the door to open it and find Alex covered in green marker. It's in his mouth and I am now panicking that he has ingested marker and seeing if we need to take him to the emergency room to have toxic marker pumped out of him. When I run into the room and realize that there is fun dip sugar all over my bed. The kid was bouncing off the walls until 2am. We had a great laugh.

Double the Trouble. Alex tried to pour his own cereal.

Halloween!

We went to Safe street on Halloween. It was awesome. It was put on by the Firefighters and a Radio station. They even had a petting zoo. Alex got tonz of candy and even king size candy bars. We got a tour of the Fire truck. I think Alex really enjoyed it.

Even the Fireman have a five point restraint car seat.

Cute little pig!

Alex fits right in.

Trunk or Treat. We had a trunk or treat a couple days before Halloween.

Oh ya, Spencer and I were the "black eyed pees"

I look UGLY!

The Zoo!

We went to Hogle zoo with my sister Elicia. It was a rainy day and we thought well we will go and the rain will stop. It didn't stop when we got there and people were clearing out of the zoo. We decided to brave the weather and stay. After everyone left it stopped raining and we had the zoo virtually all to ourselves. So we then realized that the best time to go to the zoo is when there is iffy weather.

This gorilla won every staring contest.

This gorilla was posing for us.

Alex is as big as a Juvenile Gorilla!

Alex's favorite animal at the Zoo. The Lemurs!

Halloween Crafts! I love Crafts!

July, August, September...2011

2011-09-03T21:38:00.020-06:00

One of Alex's favorite things to do is have me take of picture of him and then he loves to look at them. I hope this is not the starting of him being vain. It's just part of being two... right?

Ice cream anyone?

We went to see Alex's birth mother and her family to celebrate Alex's birthday. Yes he had four birthday cakes total. We love it.

Alex's birth family is amazing, we love them to death.

Alex opened up grandma's gift at grandma's so the piece's did not get lost. He loves his farm. It makes all sorts of animal sounds. Thanks grandma.

We went to visit Great grandma and Grandpa. They are so loving.

Got to love the picking the nose shot.

Alex's party with his cousins.

So I made my first ever cake with fondant. I made Lightning Mcqueen. Everything is edible and I did all the art on the cake. It took me a while that by the time we got it to the party I didn't want anyone to eat it and I didn't know how good it would have tasted either. I learned a lot making this cake and it was tonz of fun. I even bought an airbrush tool kit. I love it. I was so proud of myself. I can't wait to make my next cake. I hope to learn more and get better. I posted a lot of picture's of the cake, but hey, I think I did pretty okay for my first one.

Alex was a little scared of the candles.

Tires are doughnuts.

I even drew the headlights on this thing. Edible paper and edible markers are amazing.

playing with the cousins.

Alex's birthday party in Elko Nevada with our friends. We know how to party.

I started my project of making Alex's cake. I was going to make one for Elko and one for his party in Utah. Well I like to make things the best I can so I ended up only making the one. Here is the beginnings of the cake making.

Hiking up Lamoile Canyon. It is beautiful. At first we were just going to walk up the trail a bit. Then we decided to go for it. We were going to hike to the lakes. two and a half miles later up the trail we turned around. I forgot my inhaler and we did not have any water or food. Oops! maybe next time I will remember to be prepared. Plus we didn't want to become one of the statistics. You know, the ones that you hear about on the news. The search and rescue team has to go out to get them, all because they did not intend on hiking that far and weren't prepared.

Salt Flats 0 to 60. Well not in the Toyota.

We decided to go camping. We didn't want to go far, nor were we prepared on spur of the moment to go out into the wild so we opted for a KOA in Wendover, Nevada. Never again.... It was miserable. What were we thinking. The heat in the tent was unbearable. I thought I was going to die. Okay not die, but hello spruce the place up a bit. I could have camped better next to the Casino... oh wait we were next to the Casino. Don't believe everything you see in pictures. I guess it was good family bonding time.

The 24th of July!!!! My Birthday! What a great holiday in Utah.

Yummy Popsicle!

Spencer and I get board and when we get board we explore. We discovered this ghost town just outside of Wells, Nevada. Metropolis. It was pretty cool. The cemetery had really old people buried in it. Some people were buried there as recently as 2010 though. This is a picture of the school that was there.

I love girls camp. The best part is going as a leader. Two years in a row I have been blessed to serve with the Young Women in Elko in two different wards. I love them so much. My mom actually made all the flower hair bows for our camp. Thanks mom!

Our awesome friends got us an underground mine tour. Gold anyone?! It was really cool. I have never seen anything like it.

We decided to stop by the Salt Flats on the way home from Utah.

He knows how to beg for food.

Alex and Grandpa

Alex, Megan, Heidi and Ashlee. He gets all the hot babes. Okay well they are his cousins, but they are pretty hot babes.

Alex and Ashlee

Driving lessons already! Ahhh! Get off the sidewalk!

January, February, March, April, May, June...2011

2011-07-18T16:11:00.048-06:00

Aunt Stacie's Pool Party! Alex put his head under the water for the first time.

Washington trip

I think we are in Big Foot Country, How about you?

Surprisingly, it is not cold. Check out the snow level. This is on our way to Mt. St. Helens

Mt. St. Helens

Sister in-law Jennifer

Shashonee Falls

Portland Oregon Spaghetti Factory

Tillamook Cheese Factory on the coast

Canon Beach

Cold Water

Alex Loved Bryan and Jenn's Dogs

Portland Oregon Zoo. Chilin' with the bears.

Can you see the cougar.

Cool tunnel with houses built on top of it.

We went to these water falls that were amazing on our way to Washington.

I think Alex is sick of the car.

Tried to Dredge for gold, but the water was too high. This is one amazing piece of equipment.

I don't think Alex could figure out what this thing was.

Boise Stadium. It was really cool to walk out on the field. Alex is in his, Down, set, hike position.

Our massive hotel. We slept in separate beds it was such a big room.

Family photo's

Beautiful thanks to my younger sis'

Alex's Happy Cheesy smile that I love so much.

A Dad and His Boy!

Easter!

Look what the easter bunny brought me.

Alex is such a handsome muffin.

We had an easter egg hunt and party with some friends the Saturday before easter.

I love to decorate cakes. This one I did for easter with a basket weave on the side. I was really sad though. It started to slide off :( I need to learn more about cake decorating apparently.

Spencer and I took a trip to Las Vegas to meet with our Adoption agency case worker. We had a little fun while we were there too.

Can't go to Vegas without visiting the M&M store.

Spencer loves his Raising Canes. When he served his mission in Louisiana, he found his love for their chicken fingers. It was started in Louisiana and now they are all over. So of course we had to get some.

My aunt treated us to an awesome Razor tour. I have to tell you that was one of the most fun things I have ever done. Can you say 90 miles an hour on a lake bed!

Do we look sexy or what.

Nothing like a dirt filled grin.

Super cool guy right here!

March! March Madness and Mardi Gras, two of Spencer's favorite things. He is seen here eating a Crawfish Po Boy sandwich. I have to say that it is spectacular. Po boy's are native to the south and he ate them all the time on his mission in Louisiana.

Something else Spencer really likes is King cake. It is a Mardi Gras tradition. There is a little toy baby Jesus hidden in the cake and the tradition is that whoever gets the piece with the baby has to bring the cake the next year. I bought this one and then I learned how to make them. They are really easy and fun to make. They are Yummy!

Crawfish Po Boy

Alex likes to put on our sunglasses. We got him a pair and he will wear them for a second and take them off. Oh well!

We live by some of the most beautiful canyons. We decided to take our friends up the canyon when they came to visit. It is so pretty.

Alex got to meet Clifford the big red dog at the local libraries story time. He was the first one up there.

I am not sure what he did, but he thought he was caught red handed. Tell me his little belly isn't the cutest thing you ever saw.

In February the weather decided to bring us a treat of warmth. It was still jacket weather, but I think everyone in the city went to the park to celebrate. Spencer played basketball with a few teens and ended up beating them till they dropped.

Alex loves the slide, but sometimes chooses to go down a different way.

Where there is girls there is Alex.

Another one of Alex's favorite things is Apples. He walks around the house sometimes just chanting, apple, apple, apple. One day he ate everything but the stem of the apple.

For Spencer's birthday in February I made him this awesome football cake. He is so old. Ha Ha ha!

BYU fan and football player in training.

Grandpa is so fun to play with.

Alex loves his Elmo. He is so cute. Elmo was one of his first words.

I have to change my hair every once in a while. I get bored with it. I went from blond to brown. I like it!

Since mom was changing her hair she thought I needed a hair cut. I think she did a great job for her first time.

I am so handsome.

December 2010

2011-07-18T15:25:00.008-06:00

Alex trying to put his own jacket on.

Christmas morning at Granma and Gunka Sadler's house.

Can't let dad take a nap... it's Christmas!

Alex trying to wrap himself up as a present.

Alex loves his dusty dog.

Presents, Presents, Presents!

Mom, this one is making noises.

Auntie Elicia thinks it's fun to do my hair.

Every year we go to Spencer's families Christmas Eve party and then to Criscell's grandma Davis' Christmas Eve party.

Ward Christmas Party. Alex was not so sure about Santa.

October, November 2010

2011-07-18T13:51:00.007-06:00

The Look!

Alex has this look he gives people. I think he is trying to get something.

This is at Criscell's Grandpa's 87th birthday party. Here is Criscell's grandpa, dad, Criscell, and Alex. Four generations.

Just the family lounging around.

Spencer's parents came home from their mission in Turkey. The whole family met them at the airport. We were so excited to see them. They had never met Alex in person. We had video chats with them on Skype, but that was all they had seen of him.

Spencer's Dad, Alex and Spencer

The first meeting with Grandpa Paskett.

sleeping boys.

Halloween!! One of my favorite holidays. Spencer was a bounty hunter and I was the bounty. Alex was our little monkey.

Carving pumpkins. I made my own pattern.

We moved to a new place the end of August. We had a few boxes still to unpack. Alex is so helpful unpacking for us.

Alex cruisin' around in his little car.

August, September 2010

2011-04-29T01:07:00.007-06:00

We had so much fun at Alex's birthday party. All of his birthmother's family was there and spoiled him rotten. We love them so much. Thank you to everyone! My family helped me make an awesome cake. It was a football stadium. My brother Dallas used edible markers to make mega-tron screens. One was a coke advertisement and the other was football players on the field playing. Elicia and my mom helped me make all the cupcakes.

We cleaned Alex up in the near by drinking fountain.

We had a fun party for Alex the weekend after his birthday, but on his actual birthday we got him a little cupcake cake and let him dig in.

The cake looks just like our dog dusty. one Blue eye and all.

We attended the National Adoption Conference in Layton Utah. Spencer was so excited to hear Brandon Doman, BYU's football offense coordinator, speak. It was a great conference as usual. Below is our little family with Brandon Doman.

June, July, and August 2010

2011-04-29T00:21:00.008-06:00

Oldest pics are last.

Here is Alex eating his first ice cream cone. We ended up moving from out first apartment in Elko to a house rental. You would think that the house would be an upgrade from the apartment, but it was not. Yes we paid a lot of money for that apartment. You ask why? Well it was the only place available at the time. We are now paying a lot less for a two bedroom house built in 1929. It is not bad though. It beats the crapy management at our apartments.

Here is Spencer sporting Alex's hat. We went to our ward campout. It was a blast. We had a zipline and Spencer took Alex down strapped to him. Alex is a dare devil. It was also Alex's first time camping. He slept like a baby.

Alex is always catching the girls eyes. He is with one of the Young Women in our 1st ward. I loved those girls in that ward. Alex was also able to go to girls camp a couple different days. Spencer had to come up and help us set up and then because he was the Executive secretary in the Bishopric he came up on Bishopric night. I didn't post any pics from girls camp.

Sleeping!

All the families had to get up and do a skit or song. We decided to tag along with our friends so we did not have to do our own.

Now we are in July. We had so much fun in the sun going to the park. Alex loves the swings.

If you notice, Alex is not looking at the camera and has his eye on something else. If you could pan the camera to the right, you would notice the little girl on the swing next to him. He sees a girl and you can't get his attention. Do you think we are in trouble?

Yeah, my butt fits on the slide.

Standing man, but still no walking yet. 10 months old he has taken a few steps, but not wanting to walk.

Family photo! Alex's eyes still on the little girl of who's mother offered to take our picture.

He may check out the girls, but his heart belongs to mommy.

Alex and daddy in the boat.

Our little strong man! So we have realized that Alex has some extra strength. We started noticing this when we were at church. He would just hang on the back of the pews without his feet touching the ground. We were at the park and hung him on the rings. Don't worry obviously they are not high and I am ready to catch. This kid is hanging by one arm from the rings. Not just for a second either.

Alex loves water. He likes to splash himself with water too. He had a blast in this mini pool that our friend gave us.

We try to support the community by going to the different things they put on in the park. One of the mines does a free hamburger thing in the park with entertainment. It was fun, but Alex fell asleep anyways.

June!!

Playing on the grass at our apartments was nice.

Wow it's been a while.

2010-06-11T18:12:00.002-06:00

So posting might have to wait a couple more days. I promise it will happen. It has just been a cray last couple of months. If you have access to Alex's blog you can check it out. It has most of the updates. If you want to be able to see Alex's blog, just send me your email and I will get you in. Sometimes it is hard to update both.

Alex's sealing March 27th 2010

2010-04-19T09:59:00.003-06:00

One of the best days of our lives!

Alex was sealed to us for Eternity. It was a very special week. On the 23rd we finalized his adoption in court. On the 27th he was sealed to us and on the 28th Spencer blessed him in our Elko ward. The sealer said he was very inspired about Alex's sealing. He did something that day, that he had never done before with infants. Usually they don't bring them in until they are done talking etc. and then they send them right out after so they don't get fussy and cry. The sealer said he went down to the children's room and when he saw Alex he wanted him to be in the room with us the entire time. Alex sat on my lap and intently watched the sealer the whole time. Anyone who says that baby's don't know what is going on is crazy. I think they truly know more than us at that age. Alex was perfect. It was amazing to have him on my lap as the sealer spoke to us. He also said he was inspired to use a scripture he had never used before. All I can say is that the Lord knows what he is doing and Alex is our little boy.

They grow up too fast!

2010-03-24T15:36:00.009-06:00

So I forgot to post our Super bowl pictures. We had fun at our friends house here in Elko. She made a yummy spread, with chicken wings, chili, ribs and we brought some little smokies. Alex was really tired. He lasted about 10, 15 minutes tops.

Yes that is spit up on his shirt. Mom forgot the burp cloth.

Two teeth by six months.

My little Sheriff/Outlaw

He was sitting up by 5 months

Holding his own bottle.

I spoke at the University of Utah for a good friend/Professor of mine on the 8th. Alex and I came home on the 9th and Spencer had scheduled the missionaries for dinner on the 10th. It was a crazy week, but I wouldn't miss the opportunity to feed them. They work so hard.

Since Alex and I were not home till late on the 9th, we decided to celebrate Alex's sixth month with the missionaries and a football cupcake cake. We even let Alex indulge, OK well, we let him stick his hands in the frosting.

Rolling over and moving around the house.

I was up before the crack of dawn at 5:30 to work out. I was energized and decided to make up a St. Patrick's Day breakfast. I dyed the eggs, Ham and milk green. All in honor of Alex's favorite book "Green Eggs and Ham".

I decided well, why stop there. for lunch I had green applesauce and for dinner we had green German pancakes or Iracookin(sp?).

On the 20th Spencer and Alex watched the BYU game. The shirt that Alex is wearing is from 1979/80. Yes my older brother wore it when he was a baby. My mom went to college there.

Alex has picked up Spencer's pout when BYU loses. It was a sad game.

They were both cheered up that night when Alex won his first Pine Wood Derby with Daddy. Spencer did not let his family down. The Paskett legacy lives on. The difference in this win, is that Spencer didn't even have the fancy tools that the rest of his family does. I think this makes it that much better. Spencer scrapped his way at the car and Criscell painted the logo on the car. The car's name is "Home Aid". There were no rules in this Derby with the Elders Quorum. Some cars were made of pure led. Spencer's was probably the only one closest to stalk and he didn't think he had a chance. He was kind of embarrassed and we didn't think we were even ganna go. After the first heat, he led the way and never took even second. Always first.

Way to go Dad!

Sunday we had our friends over for some games. Alex was not having a good night. Shalem volunteered to feed Alex. Alex decided this was how he was going to drink his bottle. He wanted Shalem to hold it for him. I was so cute, like feeding a little lamb.

This month was crazy and it was all leading up the one of the most important weeks of our lives. We finalized Alex's adoption on Tuesday March 23rd in Bountiful Utah. Saturday Alex was sealed to us and Sunday we had him blessed.

Alex was perfect and slept through the whole thing.

What a wonderful Day!!

We will post the Sealing and blessing pictures later. My wonderful younger sister took all the pics.

February

2010-03-24T15:28:00.002-06:00

So months just keep flying by and I don't seem to post as much. Well we are having a blast here in our home with Alex. He has such a cute personality. Most of the time he is smiling. He was rolling over and laughing all the time. Believe it or not, but he used to be as small as this bear. He is growing way too fast.

Alex got his first tooth the end of Januray.

February just flew by.

Just Random

2010-01-07T23:23:00.004-07:00

I struggle to get anything posted on our blog anymore. So here is a few random photos over the past few months. It has been crazy here in Elko Nevada. I find that Alex takes up most of my time, which I am totally fine with. The house work gets the back burner and I really don't care. I would rather spend my time with Alex while he is growing so quickly. We love to play. He has the cutest little giggle now, that makes my heart melt.

I am excited about my new church calling as Secretary in the Young Women's Presidency. I haven't been in Young Women's since I was one. Even when I was one I spent most of my latter teenage years sick or in the hospital. I can't wait for girls camp.

Well Spencer is doing well at work, working hard there and when he is here he is hardly here. Such a busy man with work and his new church calling as executive secretary to the Bishop. (Dave can appreciate this one.) I am missing all of our friends, and it seems like we get no time when we are in Utah to visit them. Hopefully 2010 will bring us more blessings and more time.

Alex is the cutest baby ever. I may be bias, but I really think so.

See these are from Thanksgiving. I am way behind. We decided to go to Maddox the day after Thanksgiving for my family. My older brother works really early the day after Thanksgiving so coming down is really hard for him, but he got off early enough for us to get together for dinner. We even had our own room upstairs there.

Ah, Christmas! It was much fun with Alex. We didn't get each other anything. We decided we would each get something small for Alex and not tell each other what we were getting him, so we would be surprised when we helped him open them. Mostly we got him things that would help us entertain him. His aunt Jen, Uncle Bryan and Uncle Dallas got him some really cool stuff though.

Aunt Elicia and the matching Santa hats.

We did draw names for family gifts this year because none of us had money. We had Dallas and Bryan. Here is Dallas playing with his wood brain teasing puzzles.

Who could resist this little smile. I love this picture. Alex is so playful and loves to smile. can you believe he is only 31/2 months in this picture. He is growing so fast.

Another favorite pic of mine.

Well thats all for now. I will find time to post more later.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2009-12-21T19:28:00.004-07:00

We decided to save some money and post our Christmas card on our blog. It has been an eventful year with the move, and we feel so blessed to have Alex in our home. We want to wish every one a Merry Christmas and let them know we love them and are so grateful for everyone's love and support. Thanks to my sister Elicia for taking our family pictures and making our Christmas card.

Love the Pasketts

2009-11-12T17:27:00.003-07:00

I know I have been bad at updating our blog. This is probably because I have been updating Alex's blog. I made him his own little private blog so family, friends and most important his birth mother can see. It is private, but if you would like to be invited let me know and get me your email address. Here are some cute pics of our little guy. He turned two months on Monday. He is getting so big. He has his official nick name, Monkers. It started because we thought he had really long arms so Spencer started calling him his little monkey. Now it has become monkers. So if we refer to him a "monkers" you know why.

I have to thank Julie for lending us her Boppy. It is the only place, besides dads chest, that he will sleep soundly.

Dusty still has to be wherever Alex is.

Our little Frog prince.

More pics on Alex's blog.

2009-10-22T21:11:00.001-06:00

2009-10-11T18:11:00.001-06:00

This Picture is one that our friend Natalie took. Our little boy is just so photogenic.

Alex

2009-10-07T14:52:00.002-06:00

My little sister took some pictures of Alex. This one is my favorite.

Alex Joel "AJ"

2009-09-16T13:42:00.004-06:00

After over 5 years of waiting, our little angel was placed in our

arms, by his beautiful birth mother, on September 12, 2009.

Little Alex was born on 9/9/09 at 11:14 am.

He weighed 5lbs 10 oz and 18 inches long.

The moment he came into this life, he had more people

that love and care for him than anyone could imagine.

I don't have a way to post to upload pictures from my camera

so this one is from my phone. We will post many more later.

Random

2009-08-31T11:50:00.002-06:00

So one day we were on our way up to Layton from Elko, NV and Dusty decided that he wanted some of my drink. O.K. so it was all gone except the ice, but it was so funny to watch him try to get to the ice. He had to stick his whole head in the cup.

The internet!!!

2009-08-21T11:37:00.003-06:00

Yeah for the internet! I have been living without it for the last month. I didn't realize how much I used the little addictive tool. I was doing o.k. with out it, until I was asked to give a talk in church. Let me tell you, the old methods of writing a talk are far too difficult. I felt lost without being able to check my bank account every day. My Blog, well I wasn't the best at that lately anyhow. Facebook, well I don't really use it so I didn't miss that. There are just the little things, like, checking other peoples blogs, email, looking up a phone number or mapping something out. Well we are back online and ready to go. Spencer had the internet at work so he is not as excited as I am.

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!!

2009-07-22T18:12:00.003-06:00

So, I am not quoting the movie Annie. I am simply stating that our lives have been yet again hectic. I have had too many people tell me lately, that our lives are not boring. If only I could say that wasn't true. So many things have been going on in our world in the last 6 months. I am afraid if I told you everything, did you would all be bored out of your mind so I will just update you on a few things. Spencer got a promotion, I quit my job and am now staying at home, we are in the process of moving, and Dusty got really sick and almost died.

Spencer's Promotion and Staying at home.

So I am officially a "home maker" You would think that I would be bored at home or have all the time in the world to just sit around and knit or something. It has been the exact opposite. With Spencer at work most of the week and traveling back and forth, until our house sells, I have been left to clean, pack, and do yard work all by myself. (OK, so I have called my mommy up and employed her help as well as my little brothers) In fact my mom and little brother have been life savers. One day we will get moved. We are looking at tentatively Saturday July 25th. I think it finally sunk in when I reserved a UHAUL. I cried after I got off the phone with them. I am seriously going to miss everyone. I know we are not moving far, but it is still a change.

Dusty

Now to Dusty. He wasn't up to his normal eating on Sunday. We didn't think anything of it. He only ate his doggy treats on Monday and a little water. All in all he was pretty upbeat. Tuesday he threw up in the morning. When he threw up for the second time I noticed a tiny bit of blood. It made me a little nervous. He threw up about two more times, but no blood was in the throw so I stopped worrying too much. I just decided to make an appointment for the vet the next day and watch him. If you get woozy you may want to stop reading. Around 1:00 I took Dusty outside and sat on the grass. A little boy walked by and asked if he could pet Dusty. I told him yes, and prepared myself to hold Dusty down so he would not jump all over the poor unsuspecting boy. Nothing! Dusty just sat there and did not move. That is when I thought something serious might be wrong. So around 3:30 Dusty needed to go to the bathroom. He did the normal doggy squat to go #2. That is when I freaked out. All that came gushing out was runny blood. It wasn't just a little. I was hysterical. I thought our little puppy was dying. We hurried and called vet. They would be closed by the time we would get there so I had to take him to the Animal ER. When I got there the Vet looked him over for a minute and quickly diagnosed him with HGE. Dusty was so out of it. His eyes looked like they were rolling into the back of his head. The Vet kind of explained what it was and they whisked our little Dusty away for emergency overnight treatment. The Vet then told me that he was in critical condition and could possible die. I about lost it right there. He told me to go home and google it. I just don't think he wanted to tell me how bad it was himself. Seriously HGE is not funny stuff. Dogs can die within hours of noticing the symptoms. Dusty went from happy go lucky puppy with a little spit up to incoherent in 5 hours. The good news is he is feeling sick, but he is doing much better. I picked him up this morning and he has been eating and drinking water. The bleeding looks like it has stopped. Our regular Vet looked him over today and is going to see him again tomorrow morning. Poor guy. We just want to see him jumping up and down again.

Well there is a little bit of what has been going on in our lives. I am excited for Friday, because it is my Birthday! I am not excited that I will be 27 years old. Three more years and I will be 30... Cry me a river right!?! I will have to take pics and post them. I have been such a slacker. You all have a great 24th of July!!

Fun Stuff

2009-06-11T21:50:00.004-06:00

So, I decided to post some of the pictures I took over the weekend and some pictures my little sister took back about a month ago. This post is just a description of the slide shows below.

The first slide show is the pictures my little sister took of me, Spencer and Dusty. She did a good job, but she didn't have much to work with as models. Lets face it, some people are made to be in front of a camera, and we are not that type of some people.

The second slide show is the pictures we took on Sunday. We drove up to a field near Hill Air Force Base and snapped some shots of the air show that was going on. These pics are not as good as my brothers, but they work. It decided to down poor right as the Thunderbirds came out. It did stop shortly after and they finished with a bang.

The third and final slid show is the pics I took on Saturday at my house. The air show was both days and I just decided to snap these off my back porch. It is really cool what you can see right in our back yard.

If you want to see the slide shows larger, just click on them.

Spencer, Criscell and Dusty

2009-06-11T21:48:00.002-06:00

View all

Get your own

Sunday Air Show

2009-06-11T21:47:00.003-06:00

Air show on the back porch

2009-06-11T21:44:00.002-06:00

FOR SALE!!

2009-06-08T17:29:00.006-06:00

So we have two things for sale right now.

First we have our 1999 Mitsubishi Gallant. It doesn't run, but we are selling it for $800 OBO smackers. Spencer is not a mechanic and we don't want to fix it up because we have two cars now, and with the Gallant it makes 3.

SOLD!!!!!

one down one to go.

Second, we are selling our HOUSE!! We are moving and need to sell pronto. If you know anyone in the market up in Davis County, just let us know. This is not the most recent pic of our house, but we will post one later. Right now it is all green and lush.

Family Photo Shoot

2009-06-01T18:53:00.003-06:00

I totally forgot to post these pics. We had someone take these pictures of Spencer's family on Mother's Day. It's totally hard to get 39 people to all have there eye's open at the same time. I have photoshopped the one with just the kids and grandparents. I bet you can't tell which kids I photoshopped. I enjoy that kind of stuff. I will have to work on the whole group one later. I don't have that much time tonight. Of course you might have to click on the pictures to actually see the people. When you have so many people and chop it down to this size it makes it really hard to see anyone. LOL!

BBQ

2009-05-31T09:22:00.002-06:00

This weekend was full of fun BBQ's. Friday we went over to our neighbor/friends house for shish-kabobs on the grill, that were wonderful. The company was great too. On Saturday we went to our friends house for steak. Yummy! Greg thought he ruined them, but I thought they were awesome. Their little boys were so adorable. After we ate we had s'mores over a fire pit in their back yard. They were awesome too. Their little boy stuck some of the marshmallows in all the holes of his little tykes basketball hoop. I don't have any pictures from this weekend. I will have to remember my camera next time. We had a great time this weekend. Thanks guys!!

Dusty and the car

2009-05-26T22:51:00.002-06:00

Our poor Dusty today decided to finally take his chance when Spencer opened the gate. He darted out of the gate to the back yard, into the garage, where his bone was of course, and into the road as fast as he could. The little black car slammed on his brakes as hard as he could.

I was in the house and herd Spencer scream. I couldn't tell what was going on. I ran down the stairs as fast as I could because I herd the loud screeching outside. At first I thought something had happened to Spencer because Dusty came right to the back door. Then two seconds later Spencer came running around the back yelling that Dusty had been hit by a car. Our poor new neighbor up the street didn't even see him coming. I feel bad for Dusty, but this one was his fault. As Spencer describes it, Dusty ran with his bone in mouth right into the back wheel of the car. He bounced off the wheel and the car ran over the bone. Poor guy probably thought he ran over Dusty. Dusty has a few bumps and scraps, but he is doing well. I just feel bad for the driver of the car. I would be crying my eyes out if I thought I hit some little animal.

Let this be a lesson to all little kids. Look both ways before you cross the street!!

Elko

2009-05-25T14:43:00.003-06:00

We took a trip down to Elko on Friday. We had a great time. On Saturday we drove up Lamoile Canyon. It was absolutely beautiful. This canyon was formed by glaciers and there are so many waterfalls. I guess there are a lot of big horn sheep too, but we didn't see any. We did see some deer and plenty of prairie dogs on our way up. These pictures just don't do it justice.

Our drive home Sunday was good. I fell asleep half way and was rudely awaken by the sound of hail on the car. It hailed so hard and there was about 3 to 4 inches of hail on the road. It was crazy. It's not a long drive at all either. It was about 3 hours.

Of course Spencer has to concentrate while driving. I think he was a little tired.

More pics of the canyon. There was a lot of snow at the top.

Shopping!!

2009-05-18T22:14:00.009-06:00

So my mom and I went shopping. Do you know how long it has been since I have been like actually shopping. You know besides groceries and the occasional I need a shirt or a pair of pants shopping. It felt so good. I forgot how good it is to just go shopping, when you aren't looking for anything in particular. Even though the things I totally love don't look good on me. I picked out some really cute things I think. I have this thing with jackets. I love jackets. I have this black Roxy jacket that I have worn to death. It is so comfy. I bought this really cute jacket, a light weight one. It is sooooo soft inside. It's very similar to my Roxy one, just green and it's AE. I bought a couple of things for work at New York and Company and my mom bought my little sister and I some tanks at Pac Sun. I like them because they are not tight and con-finding. I was on a natural high when I got home. Some times that doesn't happen when I go shopping, as Spencer would tell you. So if anyone is up for another shopping trip in about a month when I get paid again, let me know. I didn't even hit the shoe store so that is a must next time.

Finally Pictures!

2009-05-11T19:35:00.007-06:00

Ok, ok, so I have been very delinquent in posting. I am usually on the ball and reminding every one else about posting and wanting to see more pictures. So, now they have fairly nagged me to get something on my blog. I am waiting to get some pictures of me and Spencer from my little sister and some family photos we just took on Mother's day. Here are some from Easter and of my little sis.

Spencer and I, well let's face it we got bored and Easter would not be Easter without coloring some Easter eggs. Although the Easter Bunny did not come to our house this year and hide them. We will have to report him to higher authorities.

Here is my little sis, being my little sis! I love her a lot.

Boys she is single, but you have to go through an extensive application process to get to her and I hear there is a long waiting line.

Spencer observing the cookie decorating.

(more like waiting to pounce at the first sign of any finished cookie left unattended)

Our nephew Ryan and his delicious cookie. He was so proud of the amount of frosting he could get on one cookie.

Angie, caught red handed in the cookie jar!

Yummy cookie and I decorated it!

What happened to April?!?

2009-05-07T12:23:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since we have posted anything. April was a crazy weird month for us. So we had Easter and then Spencer's parents farewell. People coming home from missions and people going on missions. Were trying to get a handle on life at the moment. Nothing really exciting to say the least. We helped our friends move into their new home on Friday. Well we tried. We got there after we got off work and they were pretty much finished. We did manage to play their Guitar Hero and thats when Spencer decided he had to have it too. I hope they are not mad at us for short sheeting their bed though! Spencer and I did have our 6th anniversary of the day we met and Dusty's birthday is today. He is a year old now. Still acting like a cute little puppy though. The really sad news that we have is that our cute little parakeet died. I didn't think I would be so sad, but I was. I cried. Spencer got him for me for my birthday about 4 years ago. We will miss little QT. I will have to post some pics this weekend of our April.

Conference Weekend

2009-04-05T19:44:00.004-06:00

So, Friday we were bored and decided to go up to the Hill Air Force Base Museum. Neither of us have been there since we were young grasshoppers. We drive past it all the time. Every time we drive past we say that we need to go there. So on Friday, we did. They have some pretty cool stuff there.

What is this thing behind Spencer? Is that a phone booth? Wow!

A really, really, really, big helicopter.

Criscell in the pilots seat.

Spencer in the pilots seat.

Saturday we took a drive. It was fun. Every Conference Saturday we take a long drive and listen to Conference. I have family from down in Southeastern Utah. We usually head North, but decided to change it up a little. This is the Vernal Temple. The Steak Center next door is twice the size. I think it is really pretty though.

Here is the snow storm that we got caught in on our way home. I thought we were going to die. The roads were so slick.

Spencer's parents were able to get some tickets to the Sunday morning session of General Conference. Spencer and I lucked out, we are the only ones in the family without kids so it was an easy pick I guess since they had four tickets and there was only two of us. JK Every one else probably turned them down. Spencer and I have never been. It is really hard to get tickets when you live in Utah. We had to be in our seats way early. Conference doesn't start until 10 am but the Mo Tab has there Music and the Spoken Word right before. We were in our seats by 8:30. It was a great experience. We had really close seats too.

April Fools

2009-04-03T10:37:00.004-06:00

So, let's face it I like jokes and I like to have a little fun. April Fools has been on my mind for a while. I wanted to do something that would be a nice surprise. Something that everyone could enjoy. Everyone knows all the little tricks like taping down the phone receiver, and putting a rubber band around the sink sprayer. I went the night before and bought 200 feet of aluminum foil. We got to work early and some of my co-workers helped my foil our managers entire desk.

If that wasn't enough we had some foil left over. What to do, what to do? So we decided to do the big boss' office.

So we decided to wait until the next day to play a little trick on one of our loan counselors. This idea I got from Spencer. We handed him a little sticky note that said

Please call Myra Maines

801-***-****

Myra Maines

has been calling for you and

wants you to call back

So of course he calls and we are all watching. The number we gave him was to a mortuary. Get it now?! He calls, asks for Myra Maines and sits there for a minute. We hear him say to the person on the other line. OK will you just have her call Trevor.... What? So we are sitting there thinking, did he actually call? later I decided that I just needed to know what was going on, so I asked. Turns out he was fooled, but in return fooled us. He had called and asked for Myra Maines. The good sport man at the Laverkin Mortuary, told him to turn around, that someone was probably laughing behind him and he needed to get us back for the prank we had pulled on him. I can only imagine how many mortuaries get that call. Our Counselor smoothly hung up the phone and said OK will you just have her call Trevor back. Then proceeded to tell us she was on break and would call back. It was hilarious! I guess you had to be there.

Bathroom

2009-04-03T10:05:00.003-06:00

Yeah my bathroom is all painted! I could not choose a color for so long. Finally I decided to go find a shower curtain I really liked choose a color from there. I got the shower curtain and hundreds of swatches of paint colors. I had picked out the perfect match to the blue flowers on the curtain. I was going to send Spencer out the door to get the paint with my perfect swatch.... and then I changed my mind. I was looking at the package from the shower curtain and decided that I liked a color on there better. So, as Spencer is walking out the door I hand him the new swatch and ask him to have Lowe's match the color. I love the color! I love the bathroom. Now all I need is the tile, baseboards, vanity installed, and a mirror.

Tuesday

2009-04-03T09:54:00.004-06:00

Tuesday we decided to go to dinner with my brother and sister in-law that live in Logan. We wanted to go to the Timbermine. You may ask... why not wait until the weekend? Well they only have their BBQ nights Monday through Wednesday. Spencer and Bryan love their BBQ nights. Jen and I on the other hand love their steak smothered with mushrooms. After a great dinner we headed over to Jake's Over the Top for their shakes. I of course could only eat 1 tenth of the shake. It was really good though.

Spencer with the moose at the Timbermine.

Blond!!

2009-03-28T09:32:00.003-06:00

So I have not been really blond in a really long time. Last night I made the jump. I was getting Spring/Summer fever and I decided to have my friend Julie, who does hair, take me back to blond. That's why I love her. I just ask her to do something and she does it, and she does a great job! It is a little weird, but I am adjusting. I will have to post some pictures later. We will see how long it will last without me having her put some other color in. Well short I know, but those are the best ones. I have to go paint a bathroom.

Grumpy, Sleepy and Dopey...

2009-03-22T21:21:00.005-06:00

Grumpy

This weekend was fun. We went to dinner on Friday with my brother and his wife. Then we came back to our house and played games. Saturday was pretty much a bust. I painted the ceiling in the bathroom and got very impatient because I could not paint the rest of the bathroom. Why does it take so long for paint to dry?!? Ok so I was in a bad mood on Saturday and Spencer tried to make it better. He even went and got me a Jamba Juice. Then he tried to be nice by taking me out to dinner so I didn't have to cook. We had to go to my parents so we just went to Robintino's in Bountiful. I was in a good mood until we got home and I realized that in the effort to cheer me up, I didn't accomplish much of anything around the house. I have been trying to relax by doing some of the stuff I love doing. For example scrapbooking. I did my whole digital scrapbooking and created myself a blog. Well here again at the end of it all and when I was finally cheering up, it isn't working the way I wanted and I got grumpy again.

Sleepy

Sunday we were able to get tickets to the Draper Temple Dedication at our meeting house. I thought it would be kind of nice to go. I would be my third one. Bountiful, Navoo, and now Draper. Of course we just got out of church ran home, got a bite to eat and went right over the the church. We got there about 45 minutes early to get a good seat. Well they had the lights dimmed and you were asked to not whisper, talk or make any noise for that matter. Spencer and I were doing fine the first half hour. Although at one point Spencer made me laugh and I thought I wouldn't be able to control it. I finally composed myself and that's when it all started. Spencer and I started dosing off. I could not keep my eyes open for the life of me. I think I did a couple head nods through the dedication.

Dopey

Spencer and I arrived home and we were still very tired. I cooked dinner and then we put a movie on. Spencer is getting allergies and decided to take a Benadryl. That is where Dopey comes in. He was out like a lamp. Every time he wakes up he acts very Dopey. No more Benadryl for Spencer. In fact as I am blogging this he walks up the stairs, mumbled something and went straight to bed.

I think we pretty much covered three of the Seven dwarfs. Maybe I can be Snow White tomorrow.

Not giving up yet!

2009-03-22T21:16:00.004-06:00

OK So this is the best I can do for now. I guess since my screen is an Apple screen, it looks a lot different on other peoples screens. On the side it is suppose to say Spring. I was going off what it looked like on my screen, come to realize that other people could not, and still can't see the whole word Spring. I will figure this out if it is the last thing I do. I just can't spend much more time doing it today.

Urggg!

2009-03-21T22:31:00.005-06:00

I am having technical difficulties at the moment. I am trying to change up my background on our blog. I made it myself, which I was so proud of me!! I finally did it after talking about it for so long. Unfortunately I am having sizing issues and getting really annoyed. So if my blog looks funny for a few days I am sorry. Once I figure the whole sizing issue out I will probably do a better background. This was my hurry quick one. I didn't want to spend hours on a perfect one just to find out that I couldn't get it to work. So here goes the testing. Bare with me.

Sunday Afternoon

2009-03-15T23:52:00.003-06:00

Today we decided to go for a walk. It was a nice sunny, warm day. We didn't want to just go around the block, so we put Dusty in his little car seat belt and drove away. We ended up at a sort of park that has these ponds. If you live in Davis County, you probably know what I am talking about. Dusty thought it was great I am sure. I don't think we have ever done anything like this with him. He was too small last year and it hasn't been warm enough this year. He loved chasing the ducks and geese. There are no pictures of me, because well lets face it I really don't like pictures of me. We were kind of lax today so, I had just woken up from a nap and we left.

Spencer and Dusty just sittin' on the bench.

There were some ducks and geese off the side of the pond and Dusty went after them of course. He just wanted to play.

We thought this was so cute. Dusty, still being a puppy and all, got all worn out and tired. Spencer ended up carrying him a little bit. It was funny! It was nice for us when we got home because he was really calm the rest of the night.

Come What May, and Love It: Part Two

2009-03-13T21:39:00.006-06:00

So I previously made a post on our blog about this talk by Elder Joseph B Wirthlin. It is probably one of my most favorite talks of all time. I think I will remember it always. When I was putting the video about Temples on our blog I ran into this one and I think it sums his talk

up beautifully. Make sure and pause our playlist music.

Temples

2009-03-13T21:26:00.002-06:00

Spencer's Home

2009-03-08T00:21:00.005-07:00

Here is our goofy photo!

Spencer got home Thursday night really late. I was so excited to see him. Friday we went to an awards banquet for Electrical something or other, that has to do with his work. It was fun we got to dress up a bit and have a nice expensive dinner, at Little America, that we didn't have to pay for. I finally got to meet some of the people from his work. They were all real nice and fun to hang around. I am still not feeling as good as I wished I was feeling. I can't wait to start feeling totally like myself. Spencer and I went and played games with our friends on Saturday. It was a good weekend. I wish it wasn't Sunday. It is such a nice day I want to hop on my bike and go for a ride. It's not picnic weather yet otherwise I would make Spencer go to a park and have a picnic. Maybe we will have to settle for just a walk.

Missing Spencer

2009-03-04T22:29:00.004-07:00

So I took Spencer to the airport on Monday morning. He had to go to a training in Indianapolis. I went to work after and ended up going home sick. I have been sick now for 2 1/2 weeks. First I had a chest cold and pink eye that I ended up getting antibiotics for. Friday and Saturday I started feeling better and then Monday when I went to the doctors he said I had a bacterial infection in my throat and an ear infection. He then put me on more antibiotics. I have missed a lot of work, not that I want to be home sick when I miss work. I would rather have my days off from work enjoying myself. Today I felt horrible and wanted my hubby. He seems to be gone every time I get really sick. I end up calling my mommy. Really who ever gets over wanting their mommy when they are sick? Well not me! Even when Spencer is around I end up saying "I want my mommy". This time though I want my hubby. I slept pretty much most of the day. I can't hear out of my left ear and Dusty was driving me bonkers by the end of the night. Earlier in the day he was great. Every time I would cry on the phone to Spencer or my mom, he would put his face up to mine, tilt his head and just sit there an inch away from my face. I thought he might lick my face, but he never did. It was cute. He did snuggle up to me on the couch and take an hour long nap with me too. So I can't say that he was terrible all day. I miss Spencer and he comes home tomorrow night. I can't wait! I am going to make him sing me my song. Whenever I am having a bad day he would sing me To Make You Feel My Love, by Garth Brooks. He has been singing it to me before we were even married. If you don't know that song I have two versions of it on our music playlist. I just want him to come home already!! If I was feeling better it might be nice. Usually I get take out and curl up to movies that he won't watch with me. You know all the great chick flicks. Tonight I curled up and watched T.V. There were a lot of shows on that I have not seen in a long time. Like LOST and Law and Order. It wasn't my favorite Law and Order though. I like the Law and Order SVU or Criminal Intent. It was just the plain one. O.K. Now I am just rambling on. I better go. The sooner I get to bed the sooner Spencer gets home.

We Can Fly, We Can Fly, We Can Fly!!

2009-03-01T21:53:00.005-07:00

So They finally did it. Spencer, Bryan and Dallas for Christmas got a gift card to do that I fly thing in Ogden. It is basically a big wind tunnel that simulates sky diving. My sister in-law Jen and I just watched and took pictures. I did some video. They did get a DVD, but we have not cut the other people out yet. When we do I will post it. I just thought this was funny. They kink of look goofy with all that attire on. I thought the music I put to it was funny.

Remember to pause our music on the side before watching.

Spring!!

2009-02-28T13:23:00.002-07:00

Ok so I know it is not spring yet, but have you looked outside today? I love it! I can't wait to get out and do stuff this spring and summer. The weather right now makes me want to go hiking or camping or just have a picnic. I love the outdoors. I can almost smell the BBQ now. Dusty has been running around all morning outside. Now that I like. Well this is going to be a short one. I have got to go get ready. Spencer and my brothers are going to go do that I-fly Utah thing. I will post pictures later.

Thank You!

2009-02-24T00:45:00.011-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we were hanging out with some friends of ours. We got on the subject of cancer. She too had cancer at a young age. We sat and compared our differences and laughed at the similarities that we had going through two different kinds of cancers. It so happened to be the day before the anniversary of when I was diagnosed with Leukemia. I was diagnosed on February 8th 1999. It has been 10 years now. I am so grateful to be alive and have had met Spencer and married him. I can't even believe it has been 10 years. Things just keep coming up this month that have reminded me of how lucky I am, how healthy I am, all things considered, and how blessed I am. I came across this song when I was changing/adding songs onto my playlist today. It's called skin, by Raskal Flatts. My little sister had sent me this song once in an email and I have heard it many times playing on the radio. It does not matter how many times I have heard it I still ball my eyes out. Not because I am sad that I had to go through Leukemia, but because of the many blessings and experiences I had because of this trial. I don't think my family would have ever been as close as we are now. I love my family! I wanted to take this time and thank all my family, friends, Spencer and my Heavenly Father for everything. I could not do it alone. No one could have done it alone. I think that my Heavenly Father is reminding me this month that I don't have to do things alone. I know he is there for me and always will be. I think sometimes we forget that he is there even for the small stuff.

Make sure to pause our playlist to listen to the video

Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T10:46:00.008-07:00

So Spencer and I were going to paint our Bathroom and get some other stuff done on Saturday. Yes, what a great Valentine's Day date! Well it happened to be Spencer's sisters birthday too. When we called to sing her the traditional out of tune happy birthday song, she invited us to go with her family and Spencer's parents to the Texas Road House for a lunch/Dinner. We decided that we would get ready and go enjoy our Valentine's Day. We had a lot of fun.

Here is our cute little niece Nora. She fell asleep in her high chair, which was amazing with all that noise. I went to snap the picture and her eyes popped open. She is adorable.

Of course at Texas Road house for your birthday they make you sit on a saddle while they shout, embarrass you, and tell the world how old you are. Don't worry Robyn we won't tell them that you are only 29.... oops! let's see does the math add up?!? :0) You can pass for 29.

Keaton happily coloring his kids menu.

Isaac decided to sit on the table with Grandma, Grandpa and us.

Emma is always so happy. She is a wonderful girl

Meagan is 12 going on 21. She is a beautiful girl.

Spencer's Parents are going to be leaving on a mission soon. We sure will miss them.

Some how I missed getting a picture of Jared. Sorry! I will have to catch him next time.

Little Nora has her turn at the saddle!!

Thanks for the fun!!

The Weekend and Spencer's B-Day

2009-02-05T19:54:00.007-07:00

So we started the weekend out by going to Teppanyaki with our friends. We all wanted to try it out. It was pretty cool. The chef did some really neat things like toss shrimp into our mouths. The food was yummy too! Spencer even got birthday ice-cream.

After dinner we went back to our friends house to play games. We played Aquire, and a game that Greg got for Spencer from Italy. It is an Italian card game and I won't try to spell it because I will probably butcher the name and then Greg will have to make fun of me. I think one of the games you can play with the cards is called Scopa.

Here I am trying to bug Spencer so he can't concentrate.

Spencer must be winning in this picture. He has to win!

This is one of the things I love about Spencer. I think it is so cute, whenever he is concentrating really hard he twists his hair in front and when he is tired he does the same thing, but in the back of his hair. This is the reason why after college he doesn't have as much hair in the front as he did when we were first married.

Sunday we went up to my brother's in Logan to watch the Super Bowl. This was way fun. My brother and sister in-law do some amazing stuff with food. They made some yummy chicken stuff that we put in home made tortillas and Bryan flamed (When I say flamed I mean flamed. Torch and all!!) up some apples with carmel and other stuff add a little vanilla ice cream and whola.

We were sad because we wanted Arizona to win, but we had a blast.

What a great weekend!

Spencer's b-day was of course tonight. He is 27. We just had take out from Wingers and relaxed at home. I got him a few gifts. He collects hot sauce and loves LSU (Louisiana State University). I got him some LSU basketball shorts, .......like he needs one more pair of basketball shorts. I also found some LSU hot sauce so I had to get that. I also got him Prison Break season 3.

Happy Birthday Spencer You are an old man!!!!

Does Evil Exist?

2009-01-17T09:46:00.012-07:00

One day, a professor of a university decided to defy his pupils.

He asked: did God create everything that exists?

A student answered bravely: "yes, he did."

- "Everything?" asked the tacher.

- "Yes, everything." Was the answer of the student

"In this case, God also created evil, correct? Because evil exits"

- said the teacher...

To that, the student had no answer and remained in silence.

The teacher was delighted at the opportunity to prove

one more time that faith was only a myth.

Suddenly, another student raised his hand and asked:

"May I ask you a question, professor?"

"Of course", was the answer

"Does cold exist?"

- "Of course", answered the professor "Did you never feel cold?"

"Atually, sir, cold does not exist. According to studies in Physics, cold is the total and complete absence of heat. An object can only be studied if it has a transmits energy and it is the heat of an object that transmits it's energy. Without heat, the objects are inert, incapable to react. But cold does not exist. We created the term cold to explain the lack of heat" "And darkness?", continues the student

- "it exists," replied the professor

"Again, you're wrong sir, darkness is the total absence of light. You can study light and brightness, but not darkness. The prism of Nichols shows the variety of different colors in which the light can be decomposed according to the longitude of the waves. Darkness is the term we created to explain the total absence of light."

And finally, the student asked:

"And evil, sir, does evil exist?"

"God did not create evil. Evil is the absence of God in people's hearts,

it is the absence of love, humanity and faith.

Love and faith are like a heat and light.

They exist. Their absence lead to evil."

Now it was the professor's turn to remain silent..

The name of the student was :

ALBERT EINSTEIN

A New Year, A Fresh Start

2009-01-03T17:29:00.014-07:00

We were just thinking to ourselves that 2008 went by in a flash. Last year at this time we were wondering what happened to Christmas and the rest of the Holidays. This year was better. I think we actually made it through. I was really busy with Primary stuff, but other than that I was able to get my neighbor gifts out this Christmas.

2007 was a whirlwind for us. We had some heart aches and some joys, of which usually ended in heart ache. We look back at all the adoption stuff we have been through and can't help but think that these things can only make us stronger. Then I have to think, well if He wants us to be stronger, what does our Heavenly Father have planned for us? Some days I just want to say "OK, I don't think I can handle being any stronger." I know with all my heart that something special is going to happen this year. I am not sure what, or when, I just know. Maybe we will win the lottery? OK, so I don't think that we are that lucky, plus I am pretty sure you have to buy a ticket, or enter a contest, of which we have not done either.

For the most part our 2008 has been quiet. We were blessed with the opportunity to foster little Max in our home. He was just a bundle of joy. He was 3 months old and we only had him in our home for a week, but he was a wonderful little spirit in our home. I have to say he was one of the most handsome little boys I have ever seen. His smile was so cute and could light up any room. We loved him and we will always remember him and his Mom. The day we took him back to the agency was bitter sweet. He was never ours, but I loved helping him and his mother so they could have better lives. I cried the whole way there, and I think I could understand a glimpse of what a birth mother must feel like. I could never fully understand the feelings they must go through.

Spencer's job is awesome and he is moving up fast within the company. He loves his job. I like my job, but can't wait till we get a baby so I don't have to work anymore. I really like the people I work with right now. I will be really sad to go, but I really want to be a stay at home mom. This last year has been really busy since I was called to be the 2nd counselor in the Primary Presidency. I love my new calling though. I love the Primary children. I don't think there is a better calling in the church. Families Supporting Adoption slowed down the last few months, we took a break for the holidays. We have some fun activities coming up here in the next year and our October Halloween Carnival was such a hit I can't wait to see what happens this year.

Dusty Bottoms is not so little anymore. He is getting bigger, but he will be small for a cocker spaniel. He is definitely still a puppy though. He keeps trying to get into everything. He is not so sure about the snow. He will walk outside and stand right by the door.

We have so many plans for this new year. We are so excited to have a fresh start again. I can't wait till Spring and Summer and start hiking again and boating. I forget how much fun you can have in the Summer until Winter is in full swing.

We are remodeling the bathroom right off our bedroom. That will be fun. We have looked at tile and vanities. Spencer's dad came and they ripped everything out. And our toilet is in the bathtub. I didn't think it would be difficult having one bathroom between the two of us. We have done it before. It sure was nice having two bathrooms.

Here is to a new year, and lots of new adventures!!

2008-12-27T15:44:00.006-07:00

Christmas!!

We had a wonderful Christmas. For Christmas Spencer got a new dress shirt and tie, a jacket/coat, candy, a brain teaser from our friends, a new suit, and IFly Gift card so he can go do that skydiving thing. It's not really skydiving it is just a big tunnel that blows air up and it feels like you are skydiving. He thought that was awesome. I got new shoes, Work and the Glory trilogy, a painting that I have wanted by Liz Lemon Swindle, a box set of all the Christmas movies, crazy sixs from our friends and of course candy. We both gave each other pajamas on Christmas Eve. We got Dusty a huge bone in the shape of a candy cane. He loves that thing even though he can only drag it around. The bone is bigger than he is! It was a lot of fun at our families houses on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. What a great holiday. I can't wait till next year. Hopefully this time next year we will have another one in our family to share a wonderful Christmas with. We love all our family and friends and want to say thanks for everything the past two years. You guys have really got us through the good and the bad. This next year is going to be awesome!!

Love it, or hate it?

2008-12-21T22:30:00.006-07:00

Well I did it! I cut my hair. I went to get my hair trimmed and had a daring moment. I was sick of my hair and had her chop it off. I love it! I know my mom will hate it, as well as a few other people. Sorry mom! Spencer was a little shocked. I will probably end up growing it back out, but in the mean time, I like it. It feels so weird to not have long hair. I mean I have been through different lengths of hair, but it has been 5 years since I have cut more than an inch off of my hair. Let me know if you love it, or hate it?

Who, me? Couldn't be.

2008-12-21T22:12:00.004-07:00

So the mystery of, who stole the cookie from the cookie jar, has been solved!!

It appears that little Dusty Bottoms has been caught red handed.

Spencer had his back turned and Dusty took this opportunity to snatch the one thing he had been eyeing for the last two hours. I happened to be coming down the stairs and noticed something in Dusty's mouth. (hey at least he obeys the rules of food staying in the kitchen) I couldn't help but burst into laughter and grab the camera. Dusty was enjoying this festive cookie very much while Spencer sulked. Spencer needs to learn not to put his food so close to the edge of the table.

Family Night!!

2008-12-15T21:41:00.006-07:00

Whoever came up with family night was a genius. On my way home tonight I stopped by the store to pick up some yummy garlic french bread for our lasagna dinner, when I spotted this kit. That was it, I knew what we would be doing for family night. Yes, we were going to decorate a gingerbread choo choo train. Who said when you don't have kids you can't have any fun.

It has been a while since we have posted. Time has just flown by. Spencer and I have been a little bit out of the Christmas spirit lately. We have tried a few things, like driving around looking for a live Christmas tree. Saturday we even drove through the park and looked at the city parks Christmas display. We have even sipped hot cocoa while watching every Christmas movie on t.v. I think we have just been so busy lately that the Christmas season is passing by too quickly. So tonight we just sat at the table, relaxed and had some fun. Here our some pictures of our masterpiece.

My personal touch was the M&M cobbles stone ground. We couldn't do as much as we would have liked because our kit did not come with our white frosting. We got gypped. We made due with what we had.

Birds eye view. Spencer came up with the cinnamon bear strapped to the tracks in front of the train and you can't forget the decapitated cinnamon bear lying on the railroad tracks. Boys will be boys. I think we may have reverted back to our childhood a little too far.

Ahh, Bellissimo!

I promise that is not a wine bottle in the background... or is it? No, just kidding it it sparkling cider. Apple Peach to be exact.

Come What May, and Love It

2008-12-02T22:03:00.009-07:00

We try to read Ensign articles every night. (If we at least try to do this, then I figure we can probably get through the Ensign cover to cover in a month's time.) Tonight Spencer felt it only appropriate to read the Conference talk of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. Elder Wirthlin passed away last night. He will be very missed. We hadn't read his talk yet. I absolutely loved it. I summarized it a bit. It starts out with a story of when he was a boy:

When I was young I loved playing sports, and I have many fond memories of those days. But not all of them are pleasant. I remember one day after my football team lost a tough game, I came home feeling discouraged. My mother was there. She listened to my sad story. She taught her children to trust in themselves and each other, not blame others for their misfortunes, and give their best effort in everything they attempted.

When we fell down, she expected us to pick ourselves up and get going again. So the advice my mother gave to me then wasn’t altogether unexpected. It has stayed with me all my life.

“Joseph,” she said, “come what may, and love it.”

I love it. The rest of the talk goes on to say that the way we act in adversity can effect how happy and successful we are in life. He gives simple steps on getting through adversity and living happily.

Learn to Laugh The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable.

Seek the Eternal Because Jesus Christ suffered greatly, He understands our suffering. He understands our grief. We experience hard things so that we too may have increased compassion and understanding for others.

Remember the sublime words of the Savior to the Prophet Joseph Smith when he suffered with his companions in the smothering darkness of Liberty Jail:

“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.”1

With that eternal perspective, Joseph took comfort from these words, and so can we. Sometimes the very moments that seem to overcome us with suffering are those that will ultimately suffer us to overcome.

The Principle of Compensation The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.

Trust in the Father and the Son The fourth thing we can do is put our trust in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”2 The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in.

He who descended below all things will come to our aid. He will comfort and uphold us. He will strengthen us in our weakness and fortify us in our distress. He will make weak things become strong.3

His Conclusion

Although my mother has long since passed to her eternal reward, her words are always with me. I still remember her advice to me given on that day long ago when my team lost a football game: “Come what may, and love it.”

I know why there must be opposition in all things. Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it.

As we look for humor, seek for the eternal perspective, understand the principle of compensation, and draw near to our Heavenly Father, we can endure hardship and trial. We can say, as did my mother, “Come what may, and love it.” Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

This talk really hit home for me. So many times in my life, when going through adversity, people would ask, "how can you joke and laugh about something so serious and/or life threatening"? My family has a unique way of coping with adversity and life trials. We like to joke around, laugh and enjoy the small moments in life that can usually get us down. Positive thoughts, or PTO's as my cheerleading coach would call them. Don't get me wrong we have our times of tears and pain as well. We are only human, but I could let my illness get me down and kill me, or I could try to live every moment I had with a smile on my face.

This talk explained something that I could not explain to people at the time. I always knew that no matter what everything would be ok. Whether we live or die, Heavenly Father has a plan for us. I have seen many of my blessings and compensations from my trials in life. I have an amazing husband, a wonderful bond with my family, and a different outlook and perspective on life. Some days I do have to remind myself that life is great. Lately I have been a little down and I needed to read this talk to remind me what a blessing life really is. OK, blah, blah, blah I have talked way too much now.

God's Love

2008-11-30T21:17:00.000-07:00

"When filled with God's love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us."

John H. Groberg

Weekends

2008-11-27T08:40:00.010-07:00

Last Friday Criscell and I went to Jarem and Lindy's to eat dinner and play games. After dinner while Criscell and Lindy were taking care of their two boys and putting them to bed. J'Romeo, (Jarem) and I played Sonic the Hedgehog. I used to play that game a lot as a kid and we were trying to unlock the other games. Sadly I am not 10 anymore and we did not win. After that game we all played a card game called Crazy Sixes. It is a fun fast paced game. Overall we had quite a good time.

Below you will find a picture of Jarem and Lindy. The disappointed look on their faces are because we were dominating the game. No really I am just kidding.

Saturday my brother Andy and his family came over to watch the BYU and Utah game. We did not have the best time. That is all I will say about that.

Later that night Criscell went to Gardner Village with Julie. Here they are with an elf. After I had to go back to work to make enough money to pay for the shopping trip. No really I didn't they used some wisdom in what they spent. Greg and I played games and watched a movie while they were gone.

Thought of the week - God's Grocery Store

2008-11-24T09:22:00.002-07:00

On life's path I saw a sight I'd never seen before, A simple building with a sign that read "God's Grocery Store," Curious, I stepped inside to see what might be there. The worker's were God's Angels and they were everywhere. One pointed to a shopping cart, and said in manner mild. "Be sure you shop carefully, and prayerfully, my child. This store is always open, each customer a guest, the owner is the Lord of Life, His merchandise the best. I took a box of patience and filled a bag with love. On the lower shelf was fortitude, and wisdom just above. With faith I filled my shopping cart of that I need much more. I saw a special sale on grace in the middle of the store. In the front I found salvation with a sign that said, "It's free!" My name was printed on one box, reserved there just for me. My cart was full but I exclaimed, "I must come back for more!" the Angel said, "Come back anytime, this is God's Grocery Store." Then at the checkout counter, I found peace I hungered for, And next to it I saw spirit and joy I hadn't known before. The angel at the register tallied up my bill, but when I saw the total cost, it made my heart stand still. "This cost," I said, "is far too great; something is amiss in all the world there is not enough, to pay a bill like this!" "No need to worry dearest one," the angel then replied, "Your bill has long ago been paid, the day that Jesus died." - Author Unknown

Tagged

2008-11-19T21:33:00.005-07:00

My Cousin Kayla tagged me. I am going to do three quirks of mine and three quirks of Spencer's.

Here are the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.

2. Mention the rules on your blog.

3. Tell about six quirks you have.

4. Tag three fellow bloggers to do the same.

5. Leave a comment to let them know.

Quirk #1

I have to have all my clothes in my closet organized by Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple black, and white, then by length of shirt, pant and skirt.

Quirk #2

Spencer's quirk. He thinks he is perfect in every way, and he has no quirks. Ha, Ha, Ha!!! He said it not me.

Quirk #3
I have to sleep on the left side of the bed and sit on the right side of the couch. If Spencer is already on the right side of the couch, I make him move.

Quirk #4

Spencer gets in the shower at 5:30 in the morning and sleeps the first half of his shower against the wall. In fact I don't think he can take a shower in the morning without sleeping. When we were first married I thought he was worse than a girl with how long he took in the shower, until I realized he was sleeping.

Quirk #5

Every time I go to get in the car by myself, I have to have my cell phone in hand,

I check the back seat and the minute I get in I have to lock the doors. A women can never be too safe. O.K. I am just weird.

Quirk #6
When Spencer is tired he plays with the back of his hair. When he is thinking really hard he plays with the front of his hair. It is really cute.

I tag anyone who wants to be tagged or who just wants to write their quirks down.

The big 5

2008-11-16T16:22:00.016-07:00

It was our 5th anniversary this last weekend. It has been a long road, but a good one. O.K. five years is not that long I guess. Spencer and I have tried to celebrate our anniversary every year by doing something fun and exciting. Last year we spent it in New Mexico, and didn't get a real chance to celebrate, so this year I made sure we did.

A little background on the date that we were married. The original wedding date to be married was November 22nd, 2003. It was a good day, a Saturday to be exact. We would get married and have the reception that evening at my stake house. Well low and behold I was informed that if we had our wedding that day, many would not show up, and others would leave early. As people went through the line, my new husband would be asking if anyone knew the score and a fight might break out between families and friends depending on the outcome of the game. Yes, the great holy war of football was on this day!! The U vs. BYU. To a normal family this would not be a problem. Have you met my husband? Have you met his family? Have you met my Grandpa and Uncles? It would be the Romeo and Juliet of Football.

Well, I conceded and changed the day to November 15th. First problem, I could no longer get my stake house, so we had to opt for Spencer's stake house and of course we couldn't get it on the 15th. We ended up having our reception on Friday the 14th and were married in the Bountiful Temple on the morning of the 15th. This seems weird I know! Reception before getting married? I have to tell you it was awesome. I had all day to get ready for my reception. The next day Spencer and I were sealed for eternity, went to the wedding breakfast and were off for the rest of our lives. It was all so stress free. O.K. that would be a lie. It was less stress free. I do have to say that sometimes when Spencer and I are having a bad day and arguing I tell him "all of our problems are because we were suppose to be married on November 22nd." It is interesting that next week, November 22nd is the BYU vs. U football game. I am just glad it didn't fall on our anniversary, we would have had to change our anniversary date this year. LOL!!

So, I was having a bad day on Tuesday. A little stressed out from work and other things on my mind. Spencer called me on my way home. He could tell by the tone of my voice that I had been crying. I was just plain having a bad day. He asked me to meet him in Bountiful for dinner. We met in a parking lot so we could drive to dinner together and headed on our way. He started winding through some streets before I knew it we were at a park. This happened to be the park where we met and he proposed.

As we are walking he is telling me how much he loves me and cares about me and promising me that I would not have to work much longer. All I could think was "the next words out of his mouth are going to be that we are moving to Elko". (Now mind you we have been joking around at home that he might get sent to the middle of no where for his job.) So I am crying a little bit more now.

Then out of no where he pulls out a ring box. Of course by now I am balling hysterically. As I open the box and notice the ring inside I start balling uncontrollably. When we were first married I told him that for our fifth anniversary that I wanted a ruby band to go with my wedding ring. Ruby's are my favorite and it is my birthstone. HE IS SO CUTE!!! I love my husband. He decided to give it to me that day, because I was having a bad day, and he knew that I would probably find out when I looked at our bank account. Don't worry we didn't go into debt to get it. Look how pretty!

I wanted to embarrass Spencer so I sent him this on Friday to his work. Ha, ha, ha. He loves his candy!!

Spencer and I had out 5th anniversary family picture taken. Look how good we look after five years of marriage. It's amazing how well we have kept our shapes.

I chose the Spaghetti Factory for dinner. We hadn't been there forever. It was yummy!

After dinner we went to see "Into the Woods" at the Hale Centre Theater. We really like that place. It was a good play with a lot of metaphors about life. It was a great night.

Thought of the week - You know his Number

2008-11-16T15:47:00.004-07:00

You Know His Number

His line is never busy,

Pick up your phone and see,

You will always be able to reach Him,

just drop to your knees.

You have unlimited minutes,

I know you have been told,

And I will guarantee one thing,

you'll not be asked "will you hold?"

I'm not a "little prayer rock",

so don't tuck me in your drawer.

Don't put me under your pillow,

or chuck me on the floor.

But keep me close beside you

and use me all the time.

For in this world around us,

Satan's at is prime.

You can call when you need Him

or just to have a chat.

Just bow your head and call

"Heavenly Father, where are you at?"

And when there's an emergency,

no need to dial 911.

Just close your eyes and say

"help me out or forgive me for what I have done."

It's never too late to call Him,

He never goes to bed.

Remember, "ask and you shall receive"

is what He has said.

So next time when your feeling down

or maybe feeling blue.

Just pick up your little prayer phone,

he'd love to hear from you.

Thought of the Week

2008-11-08T13:29:00.006-07:00

I have decided to post a quote, motivational, or thought that has touched my heart every week. So here is the first one.

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule "braying" or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation the farmer sympathized with the mule but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back... a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back... HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up!" He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on Shaking if off and stepping up!

You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. This is like life. If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us, usually have within them the potential to benefit and bless us. Remember that Forgiveness, Faith, Prayer, Praise, and Hope all are excellent ways to "Shake it off and step up" out of the wells in which we find ourselves.

A Little Behind

2008-11-08T13:05:00.005-07:00

Halloween

I know it is past, but I am a little behind, and waiting to get some of my Halloween pictures still. We had a great Halloween Carnival for Families Supporting Adoption on the 25th of October. It was a blast. I will post those pics as soon as I get them. I went as a witch and Spencer went as Fletch. If you are not sure who Fletch is, just google him. It is Spencer's favorite movie. We had a great turnout for our Carnival. I was so excited to see so many people there. Thank you to everyone that helped. It was a success.

At work I went with a costume that I have had for a while. I went as Strawberry Shortcake. Our department at work goes all out for Halloween. We had a lot of fun. Many of my co-workers were pirates and of course Davey Jones from "Pirates of the Carribean" tried to take me down to Davey Jones' locker.

Cheryl, Me and Lilian (with her eyes closed).

The ladies

I love Halloween!!

Watching Spencer Play Football and Playing With Dusty

2008-11-02T14:50:00.016-07:00

So last Tuesday I decided that Dusty and I were going to go watch Spencer play flag football. Dusty loves football. It is really cute to watch him follow the guys as they run up and down the field. While we were watching some little boys came over and were trying to teach Dusty some new tricks. It was pretty fun.

Spencer not paying attention to the game. ha, ha, ha. I didn't yell his name to get his attention or anything. I think it was shortly after this picture was taken, that he had a run in with a player from the other team, and let's just say, he was a little sore after.

The Bishop leading the team. Such a great pic.

Spencer and I were playing with Dusty and I was taking pictures. Dusty was on the floor, but by the time I snapped the picture he was up on my lap and this is how the picture turned out. I thought it was great. You can really see his one blue eye.

Spencer trying to hug Dusty.

Attack of the little dog. I was trying to get up and Dusty decided to attack my shoe.

Spencer and Me!!!

2008-10-25T10:34:00.009-06:00

So Elicia came over the other night and we had fun taking some crazy pics. I love my little sis!! Spencer and I are just being goofy.

Elicia

Our little Dusty got, umm, well you know, last week. He had to wear this cone for a while so he won't pull out the stitches. He just sat there while we took pictures, thinking we were crazy.